Disclaimer: For full disclaimer, please see chapter 1.


A/N:

*reads reviews* Death threat ... death threat ... Cor will be coming after me with a large stick ... TrinityTheSheDevil will choke me (I especially liked her new name for me: She Who Must Not Be Named *g*) ... death threat ... the Celylith Lives Foundation will send their wargs/orcs/Uruk-hai etc. after me ... Halo and her squeaky hammer of doom ... Mouse will clout me ... insults ... death threat ... *trails off*

Yay!! Thank you! *huggles all reviewers* I did mention that I simply LOVE death threats, didn't I? Thank you so much, it's great you all liked the chapter - and Celylith, apparently... *evil grin* Yes, poor, poor Celylith...

I have been enjoying the hottest summer for years here in England, and am starting to resemble a snake with a very strong sunburn where the skin _doesn't_ come off. *shudders* I hate that, and God damn my parent for giving me fair skin... Another thing: My sister will come over and visit me and my friends for a few days, which I am really looking forward to, but that also means that I won't be able to write much in the next few days. She is only staying till Wednesday, so I think you can expect an update on Thursday, I think. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to post any sooner.


Okay, enough gloom-and-doom, here's the next chapter, which I am sure you have all be waiting for, probably with murderous thoughts in the back of your head... *g* Well, what do we see ... well, Aragorn and Legolas get into a _little bit_ of trouble, I won't say anything about Celylith here, and we even see a bit more of the dwarves, which I won't huggle now 'cause it really starts to annoy them. *g*

Have fun and review, please!



Chapter 19


Aragorn's mind was frozen in shock, a state he was in far too often of late, the part of him that was still capable of reasonable thought noted.

He stared with wide eyes at Celylith's body that just slammed into a large boulder at the foot of the incline they were still rushing down. Inwardly he screamed at the silver haired elf to move, to get back to his feet, but nothing of that sort happened, and the part of him that was trained in the healing arts supplied quietly that he very probably would never get up again at all.

He felt as if he was enveloped in a thick, numbing mist, and so he heard Legolas' desperate cries only very faintly. After what felt like an hour or two, he was finally able tear his eyes off the motionless figure of his elven friend, and he promptly tried to stop his horse's mad dash down the slope, with about as much success as Legolas.

The horses were already half-sliding down the incline, and even if they had been inclined to listen to their riders – which they were definitely not right now, judging by their rolling eyes and wildly swishing tails – they probably would have been unable to stop their movements.

Aragorn did his best to cling to his horse, praying fervently to all the Valar he could think of right now to make sure they got down here without breaking their necks. He looked at Legolas who was 'riding' (in fact, more or less sliding) down the snow covered slope a few feet in front of him, and sent another quick prayer to Elbereth that the elf wouldn't jump off his horse to get to his friend.

Under normal circumstances, he knew that Legolas was too sensible to do such a suicidal thing, but right now he did not look as if he were susceptible to reasonable thought. In fact, the young ranger was sure that he had never seen the elven prince this desperate or wild-eyed.

'Please, Gilthoniel, let Celylith live, please…'

Through the chaos of rumbling stones and flying snow, he saw that the men that had chased them down here – the men that had shot Celylith, he thought with a sudden surge of anger – were coming after them, using a small path that was obviously hidden somewhere in the trees to their right.

Even though it was only a dirt path, it gave them a distinctive advantage, and Aragorn quickly saw that the group would arrive at the foot of the incline only a very short time after Legolas, him and Celylith's riderless horse. To make matters even worse, the other group was gaining on them as well, effectively cutting off their only other way of escape except for the river, and the young ranger knew very well that it was not an option. Even if they had wanted to leave Celylith behind, which they did not of course, they would be trapped, since Legolas might perhaps survive swimming across the icy, nearly frozen stream, but he most certainly would not.

Wonderful, he thought, beginning to seethe with anger, guilt and fear for Celylith, this had been a trap so obvious that even the stupidest of persons would have seen it. What kind of ranger was he? He hadn't seen this, and because of his incompetence Celylith had been injured and was most probably…

He stopped himself in mid-thought. He would not think of that now, Celylith was not dead. He was not dead, not dead, not dead…

In front of him, Legolas finally managed to get his horse under control and to pull it to a halt, jumping off Rashwe's back before the white horse had even come to a full stop. Aragorn's horse was so perplexed by this that it stopped as well, almost colliding with the other animal.

Aragorn sat in the saddle, breathing hard and desperately trying to calm his racing heart. He never wanted to do this again, he decided as he felt the adrenaline finally subside a bit, never. This had been something the twins would have found highly amusing, but then again, they were insane…

His head swivelled to the right when he heard the men reach the bottom of the incline, only to move back to the left when he suddenly heard the clashing sounds of fighting. Jumping off his horse as well, he ran after his friend that was involved in a heated fight with the second group that had placed itself between them and their fallen friend.

As he raced to his elven friend's side, he ignored the inner voice that told him that they were done for, without their horses, on the ground and outnumbered, because, right now, he didn't care in the slightest. There was no sense in escaping when these men killed Legolas as well, after they had probably already killed…

The thought of Celylith fuelled the flame of fury that roared inside his chest to a blazing fire, and with an unarticulated shout of rage the young man hurled himself at a man that was trying to sneak up on his elven friend from behind.

Two of the six men that had attacked Legolas were already lying on the ground, one of them looking quite dead, and the third and fourth joined them quickly. With a pang of intense worry Aragorn noted that Legolas didn't even seem to have noticed that he had joined the fight, his silver-blue eyes vacant as he thrust his elven dagger into his adversary's shoulder. The man went down with a cry at the exact same time that Aragorn dispatched his opponent, and Legolas whirled round to face Aragorn.

For a second, the young ranger thought that he would really attack him, but then the fair haired elf turned back around, intending to make his way over to the place where Celylith lay.

"Hold it right there! Another move and you are dead!"

Aragorn looked up sharply, his eyes coming to rest on the two crossbows that two of the men held that barred their way to the other elf .

"Listen to them if you want to live to see another sunrise!"

Another voice announced, and the young ranger whirled around, only to see the group that had surprised them on the road stand right behind him. He could see at least two crossbows and two bows that were pointed at them, and with a hopeless sigh he realised that this was it. There was no way they were going to get out of this.

"Didn't you listen, elf? I said stop!"

The sharp voice brought the young man out of his thoughts, and he turned back, only to have his heart freeze in his chest: Legolas was ignoring the men completely and was quickly making his way over to them, his mind bent on reaching his childhood friend.

"Legolas! Stop it!" he called, beginning to run after him, not really caring if the men behind him shot him or not.

Legolas ignored him, just as he ignored the warnings the men issued when he was still coming closer. One of the men finally fired, obviously terrified by the grim look on the elven prince's face, but his bolt missed him by inches, which Legolas didn't truly notice either. All he could see was the crumpled, motionless body of Celylith, his oldest friend that lay behind the group of the men that had placed themselves between him and the other two of their prey.

Suddenly, he felt two arms wrap themselves around his middle, pulling him back slightly. He automatically started to fight, he needed to reach Celylith, he needed to help him…

"Legolas! Stop it, please my friend!"

Aragorn did his best to restrain the fair haired elf, who in turn tried everything in his power to get away from this person that wanted to hold him back.

"Legolas!" he called again, pulling him back forcefully so that they both landed on the ground in the snow. Valar, he needed to make his friend see reason, he had no doubts whatsoever that these men would kill them if they did another step in their direction.

"Legolas!" he exclaimed urgently, switching to Elvish, "Lasto enni! Sedho!" He tightened his grip on his friend when he tried to escape his restraining hands. "Sedho! Degithar le, daro sen!"

Legolas' movements stilled somewhat, and Aragorn continued, ignoring the men that were slowly coming closer.
"Legolas, lastach nin? Pedo enni!"

The elven prince's body went still, and he took a deep, shuddering breath before he answered quietly.
"Laston le, Estel."

Aragorn sighed quietly, but refused to let go of his friend just yet.
"Please, Legolas," he continued in Westron. "Do not do this. Celylith would not want you to throw your life away for him, would he? You cannot help him if you're dead, my friend."

"Touching," a voice above them commented. "To your feet, now."

The force of the combined look of the two beings on the ground should rightly have sent the red haired man that pointed his crossbow at them reeling backwards, but he somehow managed to stay upright, although he averted his eyes.

"Come now," the man said, nudging Aragorn slightly with the tip of his boot. "Don't make this even more unpleasant than it already is."

The young ranger shortly contemplated going for his sword, but quickly abandoned that idea as he slowly rose to his feet. There were about fifteen men standing around them in a loose circle, some of them holding various injuries they owed to sharp elven steel, and he quickly saw that there was no way out of their present situation.

Beside him, Legolas got to his feet as well, glaring darkly at the men surrounding them, but Aragorn noticed with relief that the elven prince was making no attempts to break through the circle.
"Let us go."

A tall, brown haired man at the back of the group simply shook his head.
"No."

Aragorn blinked perplexedly. Just 'No', that was it?
"What do you want from us?" he asked, quickly masking his confusion. "Let us see to our companion."

The man smiled mirthlessly.
"You would be wasting your time, ranger."

Aragorn quickly grasped Legolas' arm, sensing that his elven friend was very close to lunging at the man.
"Who are you? What do you want?"

The brown haired man studied both of them with his head cocked slightly to the side before turning to the red haired man that had spoken earlier.
"Take their weapons and bind them."

When he saw the unwilling faces of the man and the elf, he added, turning back to them,

"Let me make one thing clear: I am a professional, I do not enjoy being toyed with. If one of you causes trouble, my men will put a bolt into the other one. We need only one of you alive, so don't stress your luck with me."

Aragorn clenched his teeth, but refrained from breaking the arm of the man that took his sword, bow, quiver and knives, even though it was one of the hardest things he had ever done. This person, whoever he may be, was either very lucky or very clever. Neither one of them was willing to let the other get hurt for his actions, and the leader of these people had apparently known that perfectly well.

Satisfied that neither the ranger nor the elf would try anything, Adruran walked over to the spot where Geran and another man were nearing the still body of the second elf now. Friends, he mused as he walked over the snowy ground, that was a weakness that could be found in almost every enemy. Friends made you weak, friends gave others power over you.

He looked back at the two beings that were just being searched for weapons and bound securely. There you saw it, he thought with a sneer. Both of them were obviously capable warriors, but if you threatened to punish the one for the actions of the other, all they do was obey and glare at their enemies.

No, he thought, shaking his head. Friends were nothing but a liability, and this little episode was once again proof of that. He arrived at the elf's side the exact moment the other two men got to the boulder.

He turned to Geran and had to refrain from grabbing the front of his tunic and shaking him.
"I thought my orders had been clear, Geran. I told you that I wanted none of them killed. What part of 'not killed' did you not understand?"

The younger man tore his eyes away from the elf and looked at him, swallowing nervously.
"Well, they were about to escape and…"

"Which of course gave you the right to disobey my orders?!"

Geran ducked his head and meekly shook his head. Adruran took a step closer to him, eyes burning with fury, partly because the younger man was right. The other elf and the ranger would have escaped hadn't they stopped to help their fallen companion.

"This is the very last time, Geran," he said softly. "If you disobey me again, I swear that I will kill you myself. I will think of a highly unpleasant manner of death, and be assured that the rest of the men and I myself will highly enjoy watching you die. Understood?"

Geran swallowed again. He had thought that Adruran was losing his touch, but he had apparently been wrong.
"Yes, sir."

Adruran narrowed his eyes. He fully intended to carry out his threat; he had enough of that boy's attitude now. Just because he didn't enjoy inflicting pain on others didn't mean that he couldn't, after all.

"I hope so," he said in a low voice before turning to the other man. "How is he?"

He studied the crumpled form of the elf. He was lying on his left side, the broken shaft of the arrow protruding from his back, a large crimson stain colouring his green cloak an even darker colour. Adruran gave the man a sign, and the human turned the elf roughly over with the tip of his boot.

Adruran looked dispassionately at what had probably been a fair face once upon a time, but what was now nothing but a bloody mass framed by disarrayed silver hair. His little tumble down the incline was obviously also responsible for the various cuts and bruises that could be seen all over his body, the man thought. The snow around the being was churned up and spotted with quite a lot of blood.

All in all, Adruran thought with a slight shrug, he had rarely seen anyone that looked deader than this elf.

He looked at the man that was bending over the still form of the elf and lifted an eyebrow.
"So?"

The man straightened up from his cursory examination, wiping his bloody hand on the elf's clothing, only to find that his hand came away bloodier than before.
"He's dead, sir," he announced, trying to clean his hand in the snow. "What the arrow started, the fall finished. He's gone."

Something like a choked cry could be heard behind them, and they turned to see the now bound elf struggle against his captors, a look of such burning pain and fury on his face that the three of them unconsciously took a step backwards. The men surrounding the two prisoners had their trouble holding the fair being back, and some of them were already unsheathing their weapons.

Adruran watched with fascination how the ranger forcefully shoved his guards aside and reached out with his bound hands, grabbing the elf's forearms and turning him around. What he told him the brown haired man did not understand for he spoke once again in that elvish tongue, but it seemed to have some effect for after a few more seconds, his companion relaxed and allowed the men to take a hold of him again.

The guards grabbed the fair haired being and forcefully shoved him into the direction of the horses, and just before he followed him, the ranger lifted his head and looked at them, eyes hard and cold in his pale face.
Then he was turned around and dragged off after the elf, leaving the three men standing next to the body of the elf and wondering what in all of Arda had just happened.

"They will be trouble," Adruran muttered to himself, not really aware of his two subordinates.

"Aye, sir," Geran agreed, a small smile on his lips, "Aye, they will be."

Adruran once again contemplated ripping the other's head off his shoulders, but restrained himself just in time. He couldn't afford to waste more time, after all.

"Come then," he told the other two men as he turned around and slowly made his way down the incline to where the horses where standing. He stopped for a moment and gave the twisted body of the dead elf another look. "Leave him."

While the man who had reached the silver haired elf's side first followed quickly, Geran remained behind for a moment longer. He looked down on the still body, still smiling slightly, and bent down to take the fair being's dagger from its sheath. The young man lifted the knife to his eyes, admiring the artwork for a second, before he shoved it into his belt.

"That's the first one," he told the elf's motionless body, "And I have to admit, that was a bit too easy. I really hope your friend will put up more of a fight, elf."

Giving Celylith's body a last look, he turned as well, already thinking about his other prey. He reached the others just in time to see Adruran step closer to the ranger, looking at him with hard eyes. The elf was already on his horse, bound securely to the prancing horse that looked anything but comfortable with its proximity to so many humans and had apparently only decided to co-operate for his listless master's sake.

With something akin to concern Geran noted that the fair being's eyes were vacant, staring into nothing, an air of intense hopelessness and despair emanating from his lithe form. He really hoped that the elf would get a grip soon, where was the fun in hunting something that didn't even seem to care if it escaped or not?

"Have an eye on that elf, ranger," Adruran told the younger man seriously. "As I said, we need only one of you alive. If he keeps threatening my men, I will see to it that he is taken care of."

The ranger just looked at Adruran and his lieutenant with eyes grey as dark clouds, contempt and deep sadness in the darkening orbs.
"You cannot even begin to comprehend what you have done."

"Oh?" Tiddryr who had stepped closer asked. "And what would that be, boy?"

The dark haired man fixed his eyes on the man, looking calmly at him.
"You will die for this, all of you. You have slain what had never been meant to perish in this world, one of the firstborn that has lived for longer than most of your ancestors put together! One of the eldar, one of the beings fair and wise beyond your pitiable comprehension."

He shook his head, closing his eyes shortly in an attempt to get his emotions under control.

"And he was my friend. I swear to you, even if it is the last thing I will ever do, I will see to it that every one of you pays for what you've done, that I swear by Elbereth Gilthoniel and Ilúvatar himself! And even if I do not manage to do that, then know that you have just brought the wrath of the elves upon you, and believe me when I say that none of you will escape it. That I promise you."

He gave them a look so cold and full of heartache that it made their blood run cold.
"I never break my promises."

Adruran swallowed once, trying to keep his rising anxiety at bay. Why was it that a boy who could have been his son managed to intimidate him thus?

"Well, ranger, then let me promise you something," he said as he stepped closer to his captive. "If you or the elf as much as look at one of my men the wrong way, the other one will die. And," he added, eyes boring into the younger man's, "I would try to hold my tongue if I were you, or the consequences might prove highly unpleasant. For you, that is."

Aragorn just looked at him with steely grey eyes, refusing to break the eye contact, so finally Adruran averted his gaze with an exasperated shake of his head and gave him a hard shove into Geran's direction.
"Here, get him on his horse. We will leave now."

Adruran turned on his heel and walked off in search of his own mount, noting with some satisfaction that his men were ready to leave. When he reached his horse, he turned back again, giving his captives a long look and shaking his head again when he noticed that the dead elf's horse had to be dragged away from his body by three men, neighing and rearing.

No, he thought to himself, studying the elf and the ranger closely, he would definitely not keep them around, they were far too dangerous for that. He would get rid of them as fast as possible, he decided, mounting his horse.

After they had answered some questions, if possible.




Aragorn was seething.

Outwardly, he remained calm and composed, meeting the men's gazes coldly, but inside he was being torn apart by so many and strong emotions that he didn't even know where to start trying to calm them.

There was pain of course, pain and sadness that almost stole his breath away. Celylith was dead, these men had killed him, just like that. They had shown no more remorse for the loss of an immortal life than they would have shown for the loss of a bug, and that alone was a reason why he would kill them all once he got out of this.

Almost as strong in its intensity was the guilt he felt. He had not seen the trap until it had been too late, and Celylith had died because of it. Hadn't he insisted that they went to the Lonely Mountain, they wouldn't even have been there, and nothing of this would have happened. Inwardly, he knew that these men would have thought of another time and place to ambush them, but that was the reasonable part of his brain and he was none too inclined to listen to the voice of reason now.

Then there was fear of course, a dark, ever growing fear that was slowly beginning to fill his entire being. First, it was of course because of their situation, for no matter what the leader of these people said, he truly did not believe that they intended to let any of them live. That fear, however, was dwarfed by the fear for Legolas that had only intensified over the past few hours.

Ever since they had left the slope, his elven friend and him bound to their horses and surrounded by the men, Legolas hadn't said a word, hadn't looked up or acknowledged his surroundings in any manner. First, he had thought that the elven prince had slipped into a shock of some sort, but by now he was getting worried. Legolas was too listless, his usually bright eyes too vacant, and the air of despair that hung over him like a dark cloud was intense enough that Aragorn was sure that even the men had noticed something. He had seen this expression once before, in a she-elf's eyes who had just heard that her sister had died in an orc attack while travelling back from a visit to Mithlond.

He closed his eyes shortly, a part of him noting that they were drawing very close to the western slopes now. Yes, he had seen this once before, and that she-elf had escaped her choking grief only by journeying to the Blessed Realm. His father had told him then that she would have died otherwise, that she would have faded until her soul would have thrown off the chains of this existence and joined her sister in Mandos' Halls.

The young ranger knew how close Celylith and Legolas were … had been, he corrected himself darkly, biting his lip to control his own grief. If he was right, then Legolas would either die or have to leave for Valinor to escape that fate, and that was only if they even managed to survive the next few hours.

'Damn them!' he thought furiously, instantly ashamed of his selfish anger. These men would be responsible for this, for him losing his best friend, and there was little he could do to stop it…

The small column of riders jerked to a stop, and Aragorn raised his head, already cursing himself for not paying better attention. Darkness had fallen an hour or so ago, but the small camp they had stopped in was brightly lit by several campfires that cast an eerie glow on the beige tents that covered most of clearing's space. There were about eight or nine of them, arranged in a loose circle around a main fireplace, although there were several smaller ones as well.

One of his guards stepped closer and began to unfasten the ropes that bound him to his horse. When the bonds came loose, he reached up and grasped the young ranger's left arm, dragging him down from the animal. Aragorn had to bite down on his lip to stifle the moan of pain that rose in his throat; his left side was not happy about such movements, and it let its discontent be known only too clearly.

The man grinned coldly at him, and Aragorn had to fight a certain sense of déjà vu. Had he seen this man before?
"Welcome to our camp, ranger. I hope you will have a … pleasant stay. Although," he leaned closer to the dark haired man, his voice soft in his captive's ear, "I doubt it somehow."

"Hanar!" Tiddryr's unwilling voice sounded somewhere to the right. "Get him and the elf into that tent over there. They will stay there until the captain has decided what to do with them."

Hanar looked up and nodded quickly, pushing the bound man forwards and noting that Geran was doing the same with the unresisting elf. They entered the tent, a rather small one that was empty except for a rather large stock of food in the one corner.

Geran forced the fair haired elf to sit down with the back against the main tent pole in the middle of the small space, which he did, seemingly totally disinterested in the world around him. Grinning evilly, Hanar swept the feet out from under his captive, sending the younger man sprawling face first onto the hard ground.

Aragorn just lay on his side for a second, trying to ignore the pain in the left side of his chest and wondering if he had done something to this man or if he was acting like that all the time. He was just sending a quick prayer to Elbereth that he wouldn't be here long enough to find out when Hanar grabbed his bound hands and, to his great surprise, cut the bonds there with a quick slash of his knife.

The young ranger was momentarily too stunned to react – not that it would have done him much good either if he had – and so the next thing he knew was a knee that was brutally pressed into the small of his back and callous hands that jerked his arms behind his back and bound his wrists there again.

When he was finished with that, Hanar grabbed the younger man by his bound arms and dragged him backwards, and that was the moment, when he felt as if his arms were wrenched out of their sockets, that Aragorn decided that yes, he definitely must have done something to make this man angry.

That was another one of his faults, the dark haired ranger decided when his back impacted rather hard with the tent pole and the other man was beginning to secure him to the wood, he could never remember what he had done now to make people angry. He had that feeling that, somewhere, he had seen this man before, but he really couldn't remember where or when, or what he could possibly have done to infuriate him like this.

Hanar finished tying the ranger to the pole and lightly patted his cheek, making Aragorn suppress the sudden urge to bite him in the hand.
"See, ranger? Already finished!" He gave Geran a small smile and they turned around to leave the tent, Hanar calling back over his shoulder, "I'll be back for you, you can count on it."

"Oh, yes, I do," Aragorn mumbled under his breath, when suddenly his eyes grew wide when he realised where he knew that man from. It wasn't his face that had triggered the memory, it was the voice, the voice he had heard the last time when he had been lying semi-conscious on the floor of an abandoned warehouse, fighting hard not to lose give in to the darkness that was threatening to pull him under…

He pressed his head against the tent pole, fighting down the panic that rose inside of him. That man had been there, he had been the man that had held him while Lomar and that other man had hit him again and again…

'O Ilúvatar,' he thought desperately, 'This is not fair! Why does this always happen to me?'

This had to be the worst luck of the century, Aragorn decided, mind swirling with memories and fears; only he would manage to get himself captured by the one person that held a grudge against him in a radius of many, many leagues. This Hanar, if he had understood the name correctly, was apparently blaming him for the death of Lomar.

But why did they know that the man was dead? Well, he thought after a second, they had probably agreed to meet later, and the fact that Lomar hadn't shown up had apparently been proof enough for them to assume that the man was dead. Which he was, Aragorn shrugged helplessly.

And somehow Hanar had come to the conclusion that he, Aragorn, was to be blamed for his friend's death, and was apparently more than ready to make up for that. Yet he had been unable to even stay conscious when Lomar had killed himself with Legolas' knife, but then again, there was no way for the other man to know that. All he could see was that Aragorn was still alive and here and Lomar wasn't, and the young ranger had no intention whatsoever to correct the assumption that he was to blame.

If Hanar found out that it had been Legolas' knife who had killed his companion – even though it hadn't been Legolas' hand that had controlled it, but Aragorn had the feeling that the man wouldn't be very interested in such trivialities – he would very likely direct his attention to the elven prince, and there was no way he would allow that.

That line of thought brought him back to the situation he was in at the moment, and for a second he asked himself what his brothers would say to this mess he had got himself into this time. He would never know, he decided quickly, for he would never tell them. And neither would Legolas, or Celyl…

A painful pang went through his heart, and he tightly clenched his teeth. A Elbereth, why, there had been no reason, no reason at all for this…

He quickly shook his head, forcing these thoughts and feelings back. He would mourn for his elven friend later, he couldn't allow himself to get consumed by this like Legolas – who, by the way, had been silent for far too long now.

Taking a deep breath, he vowed to himself that he wouldn't allow another friend to slip away from him as well, neither into despair and death nor to Valinor. He would not allow it, not while he had any say in the matter at all.




He hadn't known pain this intense for a long, a very long time, and it took him almost two hours to remember when had been the last time he had felt such choking, all-consuming, heartbreaking pain. Finally, he remembered: It had been the day his mother had left him, but at that time he had been too young to fully grasp the concept of what was happening and why his mother would never come back. His father had consoled him, of course, and so had Glónduil and Celylith.

Had he had any strength left, he would probably have cried out aloud at that thought. O Eru, Celylith had helped him, had tried to cheer him up as elflings do – namely by setting free a family of black squirrels in his room, which gained them the undivided attention of his father who had lectured both of them about bringing wild animals into the palace. Celylith had always been there, almost his entire life, and never in his more than 2500 years of existence had they been parted for more than a few decades at the most.

And now Glónduil was away on a year long patrol and only Ilúvatar knew if he would ever come back, and Celylith was … dead.

The pain that was threatening to tear his heart asunder even intensified, and the thick mist that seemed to have laid itself over his senses thickened. He still couldn't believe it, although he had seen his friend's bloody body. He couldn't believe that Celylith was dead, he just couldn't be! He had always been with him, what was he going to now that he was gone? What was he going to tell Celythramir, his father? O the Valar, it would surely be enough to break the older elf's heart, after his wife and daughter had already journeyed to the Undying Lands.

This wasn't possible, it must be a nightmare, a nightmare he would hopefully wake up from soon, please… He couldn't take this, it was tearing him apart. There was no-one here that stopped him from falling deeper and deeper into this darkness and despair, and he was slowly losing himself in this pain that was too intense for him to fight or understand.

Celylith had been the brother he had never had, the one who had known him for all his life, the one who had known of all the things he had done when he had been a child. And now he was dead, and he was alone…

He really could not tell how much time he had spent in this agonising darkness, drowning in despair, when he felt something peculiar, something that he somehow likened to a ripple in a dark pool. First, he didn't pay it much attention, but then Legolas realised that it had been in fact a voice that had ripped through the blackness and despair that enveloped him.

And, he thought curiously detached, that voice sounded thoroughly annoyed by now.

"Legolas, please! Come back to me, I beg you, my friend!"

For a fleeting moment, his heart rejoiced, that had to be Celylith! He wasn't dead after all! But then he realised that it wasn't, for the voice was too rough and too deep. Celylith was dead, and he would never hear his voice again…

The darkness intensified again, but the voice was apparently not willing to let him escape so easily.
"Legolas! If you do not answer me soon, you stupid wood-elf, I will surely … well, I do not know yet, but I will do something dreadful to you!"

Legolas shrugged inwardly. Who cared what happened to him? He certainly didn't. But something about that voice had intrigued him, he knew it, if he could only remember where from…

"Legolas!" the voice called again, sounding close to desperation and, he thought puzzled, rather close to tears now. "Please, mellonamin, I need you! You cannot just leave me as well, you promised! Do you not remember, Legolas? When we first came to Lake-town, you promised me not to leave me yet, not for a long time. These were your words, elf! Don't start breaking your promises now, I beg you, Legolas … fight it, please! I need you, now…"

Aragorn, the elf realised somewhat fuzzily, that was Aragorn's voice. He was here as well? He had truly forgotten everything except his own grief, and it somehow startled him to hear his human friend plead with him in such a desperate tone of voice. Something in his hurting soul responded to the urgency in the man's voice, and so he slowly began to make his way back to reality.

In truth, he did not want to. He wanted to stay here and be alone with his pain and despair, and somehow he knew that it would only become worse when he emerged from this still rather safe place, but he also knew he had to listen to Aragorn's voice. The ranger was right, he had promised him, and that was something he wouldn't forget, not even now.

It took him quite some time to return to reality, but in the end he did, taking a deep breath as if he had forgotten how to. Blinking perplexedly, he took in his surroundings. How exactly had he got into a tent? And, he thought, trying to flex his bound hands, how had he managed to get tied to a … a tent-pole?

Before he had much time to contemplate this rather pressing question though, something very hard impacted with the back of his head, sending it flying forward. Aragorn had apparently decided that he had talked to his unresponsive friend long enough now and had butted his head against Legolas', trying to get an answer out of him this way.

"Ouch!" Legolas complained, shaking his head slightly. "What was that for?"

"Legolas!" Aragorn exclaimed, so relieved that he could barely bring out the words. "Oh, thank Elbereth! I thought you would never answer me!"

The way they were tied to the pole, back to back, Legolas could not see his friend's face, but he could very well imagine the look of mixed worry, reproach and relief on his face.
"I am sorry, Strider," he said, trying hard not to think of anything but the present and failing miserably. "I couldn't … I wasn't … here."

"I know, my friend, I know," the young ranger answered softly, leaning his head against the tent pole. "I am so very, very sorry. He was my friend as well."

Legolas didn't answer. Even thinking about Celylith hurt too much, not to mention speaking.
"Where are we?" he asked instead, voice barely audible.

"In their camp," the man replied. "It is close to the western hangs, but far enough away from Dale to make sure that no-one will stumble over them by chance."

"Well," Legolas commented dryly. "It appears that we have just found the third group."

"We have," Aragorn nodded grimly. "I recognised the other man from the warehouse. It is them."

"He is here? You are sure?" When the ranger nodded, the elf countered, "Then why are we still alive? What do they want from us?"

"I don't know," Aragorn shook his head. "I have no idea, but I do think we are going to find out." He fell silent for a minute, before he timidly asked, "You … will not go, will you?"

Legolas almost smiled when he heard the almost childlike tone in his human friend's voice.

"No, Estel," he reassured him, wishing he could look him in the face, "I will not, not this way, anyway. You are right, I keep my promises." A dark look stole over his eyes, and he added, voice cold as ice now, "And I will make a new one. They will die, all of them. I will kill every single one of them with my bare hands if I have to."

"We will, mellonamin," Aragorn corrected the fair haired elf. "I vowed the same thing, and I will see that it is done."

Legolas did smile now, but it was a dark smile and no mirth reached his eyes. Before he could reply, the flap of the tent was thrown back and four men he faintly remembered entered, looking at them with an identical twinkle in their eyes he did not like at all.

Without another word the four humans stepped closer, undid the ropes that bound the two of them to the pole and pulled them to their feet. In the same silent manner they were escorted out of the tent, and when he stepped outside, blinking once to adapt to the rather harsh light from several blazing fires, Legolas decided that he did not like this at all.

The silence of his guards slightly unnerved him; if he had learned one thing in his life, it was that most humans liked to boast, especially if they had a little bit of power over someone else. That the four men did nothing of that sort did not bode well for them.

And, he added rather wryly, the fact that all the other men were gathered round the middle of the camp in a loose circle, looking expectantly at them, was doing nothing to put his mind at ease either. The men stepped aside to let them through, and Legolas set eyes on the commander of these humans, flanked by two of the other men he had seen earlier and standing next to a roaring fire and a pole that looked as though it was used for tying horses to it.

'O Elbereth,' he sighed inwardly, 'Why can't these people think of other methods to obtain their information?'

Adruran looked at his two captives that had come to a halt in front of him, inwardly shaking his head. He really didn't want to do this, not because he was feeling sorry for the elf or the ranger, but because he knew that it would only give Geran and some of the other men dangerous ideas. But then again, he reasoned, there was no other way to find out what he wanted to, and he didn't want to keep them around for much longer either, so it didn't really matter.

"I will only ask this once," he announced quietly. "So I'd advise you to pay close attention. Who has talked to you about all this? Does the Elvenking know? Are there any more elves waiting in the woods? Why have you come here?" He took a small step forwards, unconsciously averting his eyes when the elf looked at him with such deadly intensity that he couldn't bear his gaze for long. "And don't even try to tell me that you don't know what I am talking about, for I know that you do."

Adruran walked up to the ranger, raising an eyebrow when he grabbed the other man's chin and inspected the nearly faded bruises on his face.
"You know what I want to know, don't you, boy? You have met two of my men already, I've heard. One is here, the other has … disappeared, one could say. So, what happened to Lomar?"

Aragorn wrenched his face out of the brow haired man's grasp and glared darkly at him.
"He is dead," he stated calmly, noting out of the corner of his eyes that Hanar stiffened at his words. Suppressing the fear that was beginning to sneak up on him again, he added, "He was not very clever, I am afraid."

Legolas looked sharply at his human friend, asking himself if the man had a death wish or something of that sort, throwing that statement into these men's faces in this tone of voice, but the expression in Aragorn's eyes said that he was doing this on purpose. But why?

Adruran gave the younger man a long look.
"You didn't listen to me, ranger," he said, shooting Geran and Hanar a fleeting glance. "I told you to watch your mouth." He stepped over to Legolas, but didn't even try to look him in the eye. Somehow, the fair haired seemed to have quietened down a bit, a state of mind that made him even warier of the elf. "And you, Master Elf? Are you here by order of your liege? What does he know?"

He stepped back a bit and surveyed both of them closely.
"Well?"

Aragorn and Legolas stared back at him, faces emotionless. They both did very well know that these men intended to kill them, and the only thing that prevented them from doing right that at the moment was their fear that King Thranduil could already be on his way with an army. If they told them that all of this had been an accident of sorts, a coincidence, they would be dead faster than they could even blink twice.

Adruran shook his head, truly saddened. He had hoped they could have settled this professionally.
"You are making a mistake, boys, both of you. Have it your way though," he said, motioning at the men around them who quickly dispersed, much to the surprise of his two prisoners. "You are interrupting something rather important, I'm afraid," he told them in a manner of explanation. "My men and I have something else to do this night, one could say that we have a visit to pay to some mutual friends."

He turned to Geran.
"I will leave you here with five others, is that enough?" When the younger man nodded, he turned back to the elf and the ranger who looked at him with expressionless faces, but their eyes gleamed with what could only be described as hatred. "I will be back in two hours, three at the most, and by then I expect some answers. As I said, I do not enjoy being toyed with, and it would be to your benefit if you had something to say to me by then."

He turned around and walked off into the direction of his horse, and, after some minutes of rather chaotic activity, the part of the men that would leave for the Lake-men's camp was ready, waiting for their captain to appear, which he did after a few seconds. Adruran nodded at his lieutenants, and accompanied by Tiddryr's and Bleon's orders and occasional curses the group moved out while their superior stayed behind for a moment longer, riding up to Geran and looking hard at him.

"Do. Not. Kill. Them." He told the younger man softly, two pairs of dark eyes boring into one another. "Do not let yourself get carried away. If I return and find two bodies here, you will not live long to regret your over-enthusiasm. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Geran said earnestly, but he couldn't hide the gleam of anticipation in his eyes.

Adruran gave the six men that would remain in the camp one last look before he turned his horse and quickly followed his men, wondering if Geran would manage to follow his orders this time. Well, he shrugged as he reached the end of the column, if he did not, he would kill him, and therefore wouldn't have that problem anymore…

Geran looked after his superior until the hoof beat had faded in the distance before turning back to his two captives that stood in front of him, both flanked left and right by a man that had each grabbed one of their arms. This was almost too good to be true, he thought, suppressing a wide grin, a ranger and an elf…

"Well," he said, slowly beginning to circle the small group of six beings, "You two like to be stubborn, do you?" He traded a quick look with Hanar, who looked even angrier now than before, if such a thing was even possible. Geran grinned inwardly. The ranger should probably not have talked about Lomar in just that tone of voice…

He clapped lightly and stopped again, grinning openly now.
"So, which one shall we start with?" He tabbed his right index finger lightly against his lips, apparently deep in thought. "Oh, that's a hard choice, really…" Geran raised the finger again, waggling it from left to right. "I think though, I will start with … you," he said with a small smile, pointing at Legolas.

The elven prince's face betrayed no emotions at all, silver-blue eyes fixed unwaveringly on the man's excited features. After a second Geran averted his eyes, his grin fading a little.

"This should prove to be interesting," he commented nonchalantly, ignoring the sudden cold shiver that raced down his back. He took a step away from the two bound beings, walking up to the pole and grinning evilly at the ranger as he walked past who stared at him with wide, hateful eyes. He stopped next to it and placed one hand on the smooth wood, running his fingers lightly over the dark surface.

Geran turned back to the others and nodded at the two guards that held the elf's arms.

"Bring him."




Frerin was not in a very good mood.

In fact, one might even have said that he was in an exceptionally bad mood, and that was because he was spending what had promised to become a rather nice evening with stumbling around the mountainside.

Frór had decided that the setup of patrols was a good idea, and, unfortunately, he had also convinced the Lord Ori who was the one of King Dáin's councillors that was responsible for setting up watches and that kind of things. He had argued that in the light of the things they had learned from the ranger and the elves they would be well advised to be more careful, and that patrolling the proximity of the mountain every other hour at night was a prudent course of action.

'Well,' he thought, gripping the handle of his axe and giving the back of the dwarf in front of him a dark look, 'Prudent it may be, but if it's effective, that is another thing entirely.'

No, dwarves were not elves, Aulë be praised, and therefore were not made for stumbling around a dark forest at night. He still thought that it had been a mistake allowing the elves to see the king. While he had nothing against rangers, even thought they could act oddly enough as well from time to time, he didn't trust an elf farther than he could throw him, and, he admitted to himself, that wasn't too far.

Frerin stumbled over a protruding tree root, asking himself how it was that he could find his way in every pitch black tunnel and cave, but not in a star-lit forest. He would almost have collided with the back of the dwarf in front of him, and stopped with a rather inventive curse that involved an ill-tempered dragon, Frór and eternal torment.

A gruff laugh sounded from the front.
"Is something the matter, Frerin? You don't sound too happy back there!"

Frerin growled darkly.
"If you were not my mother's son, I would hurt you for this, Frór, I really would. Why have we stopped?"

Frór answered with an identical grumble, which the dark bearded dwarf took as an request to join him at the front of their small patrol. He pushed through the other members of the group until he reached his brother's side, his dark eyes growing wide when he saw the scene that spread out in front of their eyes in the light of the small torch Frór held.

"Mahal," he breathed quietly. "What has happened here?"

They had come down the main road from the North and had travelled approximately two miles and therefore close to the point where they wanted to turn West to return in a wide arch to the Lonely Mountain. Right now they were standing in front of a rather tall hill that gleamed white in the moonlight, the road turning sharply to the left to avoid the obstruction.

Even to the most untrained eye it was obvious that a rather large group of riders had churned up the snow here, and that alone was curious enough, for he knew with certainty that no-one except their "guests" today had come to the mountain in more than three days. What was even more curious though were the tracks that were leading to the incline that plunged down on the left hand side, and, that was the most curious thing he had seen in a long time, leading down over the edge.

Whoever had ridden down there must have either been very stupid, insane or desperate – not that people who rode horses weren't insane in the first place. He himself had never been in a situation that had demanded that he actually mounted one of these demons that were generally, and, in his opinion falsely called horses. A pony was something different, but a horse … Aulë save him if he ever felt the urge to actually mount one of these monsters.

"Come!" Frór called gruffly, and the small beings quickly began to make their way over to the edge of the slide, rightly assuming that whoever had left these tracks had left again long ago. The small dwarvish troupe reached the edge of the path, and four bearded faces stared down the incline, dark eyes trying to make out their surroundings in the darkness.

"There!" the youngest member of their party called suddenly. "There is something lying at the foot of that boulder!"

Frerin squinted slightly, and really: Something big and unmoving lay there, and when a beam of moonlight briefly touched long fair hair, he even knew what it was.
"It's one of the elves," he said quietly, rolling his eyes. "Must have fallen down, the idiot."

Frór shook his head unwillingly, straightening up again.
"No, he hasn't," he said shortly, pointing sharply into the direction of the tracks. "Look at that! Someone made them ride down here, and you may guess who that was."

The fourth dwarf grumbled irritated.
"The humans. That's enough now. Let's go back and report this to the king."

"First we will go down there and get his body," Frór insisted, ignoring the disbelieving looks his companions shot him.

"Why?" Frerin asked, shrugging openly. "He's dead, you can see that from a mile off."

His brother looked at him impatiently.
"Do you want to explain to the Elvenking that we didn't bring him back for a proper funeral, when it is perhaps even his son? Or to King Dáin?" He shook his head, blonde beard swinging from side to side. "Well, I don't. Besides, we might find some clues as to what has happened to Strider and the other elf. He might have been an elf, but he still doesn't deserve to remain here to be found by the scavengers." Frór looked at all of them, obviously not willing to argue about this topic. "Come, there is a path leading down over there on the right."

Frerin looked at his departing brother's back for a second before he reluctantly followed him, trailed by the other two dwarves. Wonderful, he thought grumpily as they were beginning to move down the steep, snow covered path, now he was climbing in the dark because of these cursed elves.

The perfect ending to a perfect day, indeed.





TBC...





 Lasto enni! Sedho! - Listen to me! Be calm!
Sedho! Degithar le, daro sen! - Be calm! They will kill you, stop this!
Legolas, lastach nin? - Legolas, do you hear me?
Pedo enni - Talk to me!
Laston le, Estel - I hear you, Estel
eldar - 'People of the Stars', elves
mellonamin - my friend



Yet another A/N:

As you probably have noticed, I have lately started to really look into Quenya and Sindarin, and am now deeply ashamed for the "Elvish" I used in "An Eye For An Eye". I didn't know any better, but that's not really an excuse... *g* Now I have a wonderful book on the subject, and found a few really good language resources for both languages. So this should be real Sindarin now, with lenition, nasal mutation and all that. Please don't ask me why I still use 'mellonamin', which is just like all the rest I have used before a very bad, distorted version of Quenya. I will replace all the dialogues with real ones when I have time, and will probably start to use 'mellon nín' then. *shrugs* Later.




*rubs hands gleefully* So, here we go... Legolas is in lots of trouble, but so is Estel, so don't worry. I will not comment on Celylith here, and neither will I in the answers to the reviews, so you can keep keep on threatening me if you want to, but it won't help. *g* I know that this was a cliffy, but I just couldn't resist, there were so few in the last chapters. And there will be more, at least two in a row now, I'm sorry. *evil grin* To be honest: No, I'm not, I DO enjoy being evil. So: Review? Please? I love reviews, and they do encourage me! Pretty Please?






Additional A/N:

Coreinha - *g* I knew you would like it! And couldn't you just put Celylith down for a second? I mean, you know that Zam is a bit strange, so are many more people around here... Hope you liked this chapter, though I doubt it somehow... *g*
TrinityTheSheDevil - Meanie? Me, a meanie? I am hurt! I am not mean, I am evil! That's a difference! *watches Trin rush Celylith to the hospital* You too? Can't you guys just keep your fingers off my characters? Besides, I think YOU damaged him beyond repair - taping him to the bed, Jeez... *shakes head*
Tapetum Lucidum - *nods* Legolas is a little diplomat. Well, he should be too, being a prince and all... And it's a good thing that he didn't kill Gloin, 'cause I really don't think that Gimli would have been too inclined to befriend the elf that killed his father... *g* I've never had mead, but I guess it's not too bad, being made of honey and all that - I think the elves are just being prissy... *g* And no, I am not trying to kill Legolas with grief, and no, I didn't shoot Celylith in the back. That was Geran. See? I'm innocent!
Kimberlee - You're new to FF.net? *turns her around and gives her hard shove in the back* Fly, you fool! Run while you still can! We are all insane here, I would get out of here while I was still sane... *sighs* It's apparently already too late. But hey, it's always great to have a new reviewer, so... Great you like it! So you're studying Political Science, Spanish and Classics? That's better than me! Politics is more or less useful, a reason why I'm thinking about taking it next year too... *g* And I like the New Mexico plan! Sounds good! Thanks a lot for reviewing, reviews help a lot!
Teddybear888 - *blushes* Thanks for all the compliments! It's great you like my weird little story! Well, and the thing about the funny scenes that pop up everywhere is that I can't write an entirely serious scene, not to save my life. I tried it several times and failed miserably. Somehow there always is something funny, something that I just HAVE to write... *g* No comments on the Celylith thing, and yes, I do love him! That's my problem, I love to hurt those I love!
Gwyn - *nods* I like that rule! I have written it in three-feet-big letters on the wall above my bed... And ... *puts hands over ears* ... I'm not listening! Not listening! The rule does ALWAYS apply, it does! You are being tricksssssyy, preciousssss... *g*
Blackrose1356 - Great you like the cliffy! As I said, there are a few more to come! Sorry, I'm not saying anything about Celylith. *whispers* I'll never tell!
Seveawen - Why would I do such a thing? Because I'm evil and love hurting the poor little elves and ranger! I'm sorry about the cliffy, but just lean back and relax! Enjoy Italy! I'm sure it will be great, I just LOVE Italy. Where exactly are you going? Well, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I'll have to post in the meantime, otherwise I will have some very unhappy readers on my hands - and we can't do that, can we? *g* Have fun in Italy!
JackSparrow1 - Well, yes, it's kinda Celylith's job to stick up for Legolas, with him being his prince and all that... *g* I hope that this was soon enough to ensure that you don't fall off the edge of your seat, great you liked the last chapter!
Firnsarnien - Well, don't say I didn't warn you! I merely said I would consider it, didn't I? Gwaihir is equipped with a flame thrower now? Dammit, and I am in England right now, just like in Reign of Fire! Noooo!!!! *runs off screaming* Well, actually I have never seen the whole movie, just parts of it, but I do know which part you mean! And you should know that I have never written a single line with pen and paper, I just need my computer to write! I can't do it otherwise, so if you want me to write more, you will have to give me my laptop... *g* And you ... seem to have something in your eye, you know, all the blinking... *g*
Halo - Uhm, what hills? Scotland? You want to run to Scotland? Well, go ahead... *g* And I will admit that you could probably hunt me down indeed - so here's the next chapter! And about PotC: What about next week sometime? My sister is leaving on Wednesday morning, so just send me an email and tell me when you want us to meet and I can see if I can come to you. Or would you want to come to here? Just tell me!
Alilacia - Pretty hot? You could say that... Well, I always assumed that Estel met Bilbo and the dwarves, I mean, Rindell is a big house after all, but still just a house, so I guess it would have been hard to miss each other, especially since they stayed quite a long time. *g* Me too. I think eveybody likes knowing things others don't... And no, Adruran is not like Addramyr/Donyc/Cornallar, it's more Geran and Hanar you should worry about... You want to move somewhere closer? Closer to where?
LeggyLover03 - *sighs* No, I will not comment on Celylith. Sorry. And sorry again, Celylith won't show up in Rivendell, mainly because Estel won't get to Rivendell in the near future. Certainly not in this story (remember: The passes are blocked), and probably not in the next either. Well, it would be unreasonable.
Imbefaniel - I know, I know, Sirius' death is a real tragedy. I haven't read the book yet and I won't either till I've passed my exams in October, but I know what happens, of course. I hope that you're feeling a bit better now, I know what that feels like! There are just weeks when everything goes wrong! *huggles*
Strider's Girl - Ugh, that doesn't sound like a very god holiday, although I like Belgium very much. Brussels is a great city, even though horribly ugly in some parts... But I understand you too, it's always a shame to waste money... Well, I don't know why either, but in my stories they just refuse to shut up! I am trying to make the chapters shorter, but I can't, which is highly infuriating too... *g*
Mouse5 - Well ... to be honest, I don't really see the difference. Does it matter whether you come to Germany or to England? It's about the same distance, and clouting me here would be actually easier... *g* And as I said before, _I_ did not shoot Celylith, it was Geran, I am innocent! *blinks innocently* See?
Bailey - Why did I have to end it there? Because I'm evil! Mhahahahahaha! *runs off cackling evilly* *hands her a paper back* Calm down, deep breaths ... breathe in ... breathe out .... breathe in .... *g* I really hope I haven't really given you a heart attack, it would really make me sad to lose a new reviewer... *g* Thanks for your review!
LOTRMatrixStarwarsfan - *g* Nili-cide attempts? That's at least as bad as regicide - no, worse! *g* *looks at chapter* Hmm, then I am apparently an alien that has taken over Nili's body - it also might be because I love to be evil ... and still no-one knows why... *g* No, it doesn't matter that you haven't reviewed for a while, though I cried for the first few days - but now I'm over it! Really! Is this really so heart-stopping? Hmmm, perhaps I will have to write a new disclaimer, you might be right there... If you still want my help, then tell me what I can do to help! I don't know how much time I have, but I'll see what I can do!
Sirithiliel - Yes, there are many whethers and ifs involved right now, I admit that... Thanks for your reviews! Reviews really help to encourage me!
CrazyLOTRfan - Yes, cliffy indeed! *huggles her back* And as I said before: There are many more coming up! Yay Nili! You have been camping, haven't you? I hope you had lots of fun - though I doubt it somehow, the two times I've actually done it I hated it with a passion... And Legolas doesn't know that he will befriend Gimli, does he? And I think if you told him, he wouldn't believe you... Stubborn elf, that one... *shakes head*
Kaeera - *kichert* 'Die Welt is toll, oleole...' Ich habe so gelacht! Ich weiss nicht warum, aber irgendwie fand ich das zum Bruellen komisch... Das mit der Zwillingsstory kann ich noch nciht sagen, da ich noch nicht einmal angefangen habe, darueber nachzudenken. *g* Ich kann mir Treebeard geradezu vorstellen, wie er sich Aragorn schnappt und ihn adoptiert... Und dun weisst doch: Spass versteckt sich IMMER im Kuehlschrank. Ich weiss auch nicht warum, aber dort ist er immer zu finden, meist in Form von Eis und Schokolade... *g* Was haetten Sie denn gerne als Mitbringsel? Vielleicht einen Elben-Zwilling? *g*
Angel - Damn these humans indeed... *g* Glad you like it, thank you very much for the review!
TrustingFriendship - Uhm, dwarves saving elves in the end? *reads her ideas for later chapters* Oh... *hastily* Nooooooo, I would never think of something like that... *g* And I am sure, too, that Aragorn was a sweet child - probably a little demon, but still sweet!
Critternut - Yeah, you're right, but I LOVE death threats! I don't know why and am perfectly aware that it's sick, but I do! You've never been out of the US? Oh, I have been in lots of countries! I will not start enumerating all of them right now, since I think that you don't want to hear it, but I can recommend Mexico! It's beautiful! And about Johnny Depp: I think he's bi. He's married and has a daughter, so I think he is rather straight right now, but I'm quite sure that he had a few male relationships or was said to have had them, anyway... *shrugs* Doesn't matter, he's still hot.
AngelGirl7 - *g* I think I read it a long time ago, but I can still remember what you mean. His name was Tathar, wasn't it? It was most tragic indeed.. *g* And no, I don't really want to make you cry again, I just love to hurt the characters I like, including my OCs. *shrugs* Don't tell me, I'm evil.
Aratfeniel - Yeah, Legolas doesn't know yet, and I doubt he would believe you either would you tell him now. And of course there is another update before you leave town on Sunday, don't worry! Here you go!
Reginabean - Uhm ... what can I say ... you are chosing the wrong favourite characters? I'm sorry? I liked Nólad too? And I am very sorry, but I don't understand you with all the growling you're doing - what are you trying to tell me? That you want Celylith to die? I can't understand you, really! And I strongly resent Whack-a-Nili practise - it's not helping, believe me!
XsilicaX - I don't know if you can huggle a character back to life - elf or not! It just doesn't sound very helpful... *g* Brilliant? That chapter? *blushes* Well, thank you! That was a very kind thing to say! But then again, you better should be nice to me, as my fiancée and all that! *grins evilly* I mentioned how great Robbie was, didn't I? I think I did, but still: IT WAS GREAT!!!! Mhahahahaahahahah! And yes, I am a weather goddess! Kneel before your goddess!!! *g* And it's too late already, my skin's gone, there are only bits and pieces left - and the sunburn, of course...
Shadow Warrior - *fake smile* Okay, I didn't. I didn't do anything to Celylith. Happy now? *g* So you want to torture me for a change? That does sound rather bad, I will have to make sure that Stan's still chained to my front door - just in case one of you really finds me... Great you liked the chappie! *huggles* Thanks for the review!
Amelie - Yup, you're quite right, they have to get into trouble. It's just a law of nature, I think... *g* And I know there 12-steps-programs, although I have to admit that I never got further than to step 4: Get rid of your computer. *shudders* I just couldn't do it. And you're right again, English people are quite persistent when maters concern their 'traditions' or 'customs'. I love driving on the left side of the road, although it is definitely weird. Well, I have to admit that your bulletproof vest sound like a good idea - but it isn't. Remember that he smashed into the rocks? There a vest can't help him. Money doesn't grow off trees? *looks up from watering her money trees* Dammit, I knew there was a flaw in my plan...
Elladan1 - You haven't been able to read FF in several WEEKS? *faints in shock* Wow, that's bad, poor you! *huggles Elladan* I pity you... *blushes at compliments* Thank you very much! Thanks for all the kind words, it's not good for my ego but very nice to hear nonetheless... *g*
One15 - Wow, drei Wochen Frankreich? Das ist echt toll, da kann ich nurn gratulieren! Und ich bin sicher, dass du auch viel Spass ohne meine Story hattest, drei Wochen ausspannen ist doch schon was nettes... Was meinst du, es haette Aragorn erwischen sollen? Ich wuerde so was nie mit meinem Lieblingsranger machen! Und ich weiss, dass es fies war, was er gemacht hat, ich habe Haare ueber die Hueften, ICH haette ihn umgebracht, und zwar eiskalt. Schoen, dass du dich anscheinend erholt hast! Danke fuer's reviewen!
LadySandrilene2 - *looks at swimming suit she's wearing* Well, technically this isn't _cloth_ per se - it's a nylon-whatever-thing. So I don't have to be afraid of you! Mhahahahaha! *maniac laugh* And I'm immune to Elrond's look! Double Mhahahahaah! Oh, you got a horse too! Well, I have to admit I don't love them too much, although I can ride and all that, but congrats! It sounds like a very beautiful horse too! And a great name! Yay!
Marbienl - Wow! Another monster review! But I have to say that the weather is truly wonderful right now! I would have never believed it, but... Oh, thank you! *grabs tarot cards and runs away cackling evilly* Oh, what havoc I can wreak with that! *g* Oh, and I don't think that Legolas OR Celylith are beginning to like the dwarves. And if I were you I would definitely not call them 'dwarf lovers'. I don't think they would react too well... *reads on* Do you know that your fixation on Estel owies? I didn't even _think_ about his left side at the moment, Jeez, you are really... And I really don't believe that Rashwe can be blamed. He did all he could what should he have done when Legolas told him to go down the slope? *blinks* Uhm, YES, you are definitely _very_ scary. V - E - R - Y. And no, I've never been to Manchester, I'm more in the South-East or in Scotland. Oh, and don't worry, I have bug repellent spray, the beg bugs will regret it of they bite me!!
Alex Mistress Squirrel - Yeah, the dwarves are simply adorable! *huggles them after all* I love 'em! Thank you very much for your review! *huggles* Thanks!
Cestari - You're making pancakes? Oh, yummy! I hope you didn't set the head on fire and/or burned yourself? Thanks for taking the time to review anyway!
Mer V - Oh, don't worry, I don't mind hearing that many times! *g* Thanks for saying it again! Well, yes, Celylith ... I won't say anything here. *g* Thank you for your review!
Zam - *g* So you're not only a dwarf, you are clumsy too? Oh, what a combination - very dangerous, if you ask me... *g* Celylith has 'an emotional attachment' to you? Does that mean he is beginning to fall in love with you? Uncle Gloin? So Legolas is your .. hm, cousin's best friend? That makes him family, in a way... *g* *pats Zam's back* I know, it is very unfair that Balin died! I liked him very much too! I'm afraid that Gimli won't be in the story, at least I think so. It still might happen, but I don't really want to, since I don't think Legolas and Gimli had met before. LOL, Sauron's dungeons are already full? I should have known, really... *g* *ducks head* I'm sorry, okay? *whispers* Just hang on, okay? That's all I'm going to say...
Lina - LOL, Elrond and Thranduil glaring simultaneously? That is a truly frightening idea, I don't think anybody could survive that... *g* *gasp* Your friends really did that? I am sure that it was meant to be an accident, but it is still cruel. VERY cruel. *chokes* You want to push Legolas over a cliff? *hastily ready future chapters* Oh, what a stupid idea! Don't do that! Who would think of such nonsense? Really.... LOL, the Rohirrim have chainsaws? 'The ones who hurt Celylith must die, for to hurt Celylith is to hurt Zam, and to hurt Zam is to hurt Lina ... and the ones who hurt Lina must die.' Well, good thing I'm not at home right now, huh? *g*
Alisha B - *nods* That's better than Alisha1. Definitely. Oh, you are so evil! Taking his blood when he is lying unconsciously (well, more or less, apparently, since he is still threatening you *g*) on the ground, not very fair! Shame on you! Yeah, that's the problem with creating clone armies - just have a look at Star Wars. That's the one thing I have learned from George Lucas: Clones are nothing but trouble. That's why only I am allowed to clone my OCs, it's too dangerous for you guys and I could lose treasured reviewers otherwise! *huggles Alisha* We can't have that! So you will understand why I'm not overly impressed by your threat.. *g* See? I told you your sister was working for the enemy! Even if it was not Sauron, but Celylith - same difference. I was thinking? What do you mean, I was thinking? Does that mean that I'm normally NOT thinking? Hey! Come back here! What did you mean by that?? *g*
Maranwe1 - LOL, you will never ever ever speak to me again? That is indeed an evil threat... And I know, Rowling is an evil woman, Sirius was the only character I really liked. Oh, that would be such an honour! I will definitely write more stories, though it will probably take me some time... *g* 'Little heart-warming moments between catastrophes'? I wouldn't say it exactly like that ... but you might be right! And well, it depends where you are! If you're on the US East coast and it's midnight, it 5 am the next day here in England. Oh, but you checked, sorry. LOL, Torture on the go? Not bad, I have to remember that...
TheGoddessAthena - But ... but I love cliffies! They are so much fun! Hope you still liked it, and thanks a lot for the review!
Nilbrethiliel - _Natuerlich_ gibt es ein boeses Alter Ego. Die Sache ist zwar, dass ich genauso boese bin, aber na ja... Und du bist mindestens genauso fies, Celylith einfach so zu ersticken... Und keine Angst, du kriegst schon noch deinen Klon. Irgendwann. *g* Und ha! Alles, was es in Spanien gibt, gibt es hier auch, minus den Waldbraenden - Mittwoch hatten wir hier im Sueden 37 °C! *knuddelt* Ich wuensche dir ganz viel Spass im Urlaub!
A Person - *pouts* I may be crazy, but I'm no fool! I resent that! I should be beaten to death with the wood spoon? *fake smile* Come now, calm down, it wasn't that bad, now was it? Oh, and don't worry, I know that your idle threat is VERY threatening, and I'll admit that a deflated basketball is even more threatening! Really! LOL, your other personality is 'Another Person'? I like that! *g*
TigerLily713 - *evil grin* I did! And he can! Mhahahahaha! *evil laugh* Thanks four review, and just read on...
Surreal13 - *g* Of course you're not threatening me, I didn't believe it for a second! I will not say anything about Celylith though - sorry. Glad you like the little banter between all of them! Thanks a lot for reviewing!
Aron - Sounds good! Let's just become elves! Would make everything a lot easier - and plastic surgery the wealthiest people in the world.. *g* Well, I have to agree, I don't feel particularly sorry for the 'Fox's' men or Adruran's men - although I usually against the death penalty, I would be willing to make an exception here... *g* Not good, you could definitely say that... LOL, a million, billion, trillion times? Who could resist? Here's the next bit!
ThE iNsAnE oNe - First things first: You're alright, are you? You didn't get blown away or something? I just saw the pictures on the telly, and all I could think was 'Oh my God, Miki's in Florida!' So I really hope you, your dog, your brother, your parents and your computer are okay?! *g* And I think you are even beginning to scare the twins, and that's hard, hiugh on Menfil as they usually are. LOL, 'is breathing an important thing'? Oh, this is priceless, you just wait.. *starts giggling* And FF.net really did that? DIE, EVIL SITE OF HELL!!! They are just stupid, WHY do they keep doing such things? There is absolutely no reason for that! I'm honoured that you still check it out to read my story, thank you! *huggles her* Thanks a lot! I love you too, even though you have lost your non-existant mind!

*huggles* Thanks so much! I don't think I ever had so many reviews, except perhaps for the second to last chapter for AEFAE. Thanks so much, you made my week even better than it already was!